MOORE, Okla. – George Posey crouched in a bedroom closet with his family Monday as a monster tornado ripped apart the landscape. A single thought flitted in his mind: Not again.

Posey, 65, was in the cellar of his daughter's house 14 years ago, holding down a set of flapping cellar doors as the now-infamous 1999 EF-5 tornado roared outside and nearly sucked him – and his family – out.

Both times, Posey's family and home made it through unscathed. But Posey now joins scores of others in the region with the unique distinction of having survived two EF-5 tornadoes – the highest reading on the Enhanced Fujita Scale of Tornado Intensity with wind speeds of more than 200 mph.

"You don't want to do it once, believe me," Posey said Tuesday. "It's not something you even want to think of doing."

Carol Kawaykla searches for items in her destroyed home on May 23 in Moore, Okla. Charlie Riedel, AP

Seven crosses sit along the curb in front of what was once the home of Scott and Julie Lewis. The crosses were placed in memory of the seven children from Plaza Towers Elementary School who were killed when the tornado struck the school. Scott Olson, Getty Images

Wrecked cars and debris litter the ground at Plaza Elementary Schoo. Seven children were killed May 20 when a huge tornado destroyed the school as it roared through the Oklahoma City suburb. Brennan Linsley, AP

Houses were reduced to rubble in Moore, Okla. Twenty-four people were killed when the EF5 tornado roared through the town May 20, demolishing schools, businesses and homes. Benjamin Krain, Getty Images

Stephen Peterson and his dog, Chewbacca, collect necessary items such as dog food and gloves in the Westmoor subdivision of Moore, Okla. Peterson rode out the storm in his cellar with his wife and daughter. Michael Mulvey for USA TODAY

A section of the old trestle bridge along the H.E. Bailey Turnpike over the Canadian River near Newcastle, Okla., was ripped off its mounts during the tornado and is resting against the freeway. Michael Mulvey for USA TODAY

This image from KFOR-TV shows homes flattened Monday outside Moore, Okla. Major damage was reported in Moore, where two elementary schools were destroyed, including one that took a direct hit. KFOR-TV for AP

Maeghan Hadley from One Day Ranch pet rescue, checks a kitten she found in the rubble of a mobile home in the Steelman Estates Mobile Home Parknear Shawnee, Okla., Monday, in the wake of Sunday's tornado. Sue Ogrocki, AP

Alli Christian, left, returns Jessica Wilkinson's dog, Bella, to her after finding the animal in the wreckage of Wilkinson's home after a tornado on 156th street and Franklin Road in Norman, Okla. Steve Sisney, The Oklahoman, via AP

A resident searches through the rubble of his mobile home on May 20 in the Steelman Estates Mobile Home Park near Shawnee, Okla. Two people were killed May 19 when a powerful tornado roared through Oklahoma. Sue Ogrocki, AP

Like this topic? You may also like these photo galleries:

Across Oklahoma City and Moore on Tuesday, residents returned to their splintered homes, salvaging personal items and shaking their heads at the realization that they have been through two of the biggest, rarest storms known to man. Since the early 1950s, only 59 EF-5 tornadoes have hit the USA, according to the Tornado History Project. Moore residents have endured two of them.

"Can't believe it," said Jalayne Jann, 40, as she picked through storm debris in her yard.

After the 1999 storm, which destroyed her brother's home, she built a storm shelter in her backyard, just to be safe. Still, she thought the odds of another massive storm razing her town were unlikely.

"You don't think this could happen," Jann said. "Not twice."

The two storms took similar paths, starting near the Oklahoma City suburb of Newscastle and traveling northeast toward Moore, according to the National Weather Service. The 1999 tornado killed 36 people and destroyed more than 8,000 homes. Monday's storm has claimed 24 lives, including at least nine children.

In some ways, the 1999 storm may have helped save lives this week, as people were better prepared, Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett said. One major difference: more people had built storm shelters in the 14 years since the last big one, he said.

"That's a major difference from 1999," Cornett said.

Posey didn't have a shelter. When weather reports began warning of a major storm headed his way, he decided to gather his daughter, wife and three grandchildren and outrun the storm, he said. One of the granddaughters, 9-year-old McKenzie, was at nearby Plaza Towers Elementary. Posey said he knew the school practiced drills for such events and would shelter the children in place. Still, he wanted her home, he said.

Seven of the nine children killed in the storm, including at least one of McKenzie's friends, were at the school.

"You can't practice for an EF-5 tornado," Posey said. "Everyone knew what was coming. We had to get her out of there."

By the time McKenzie and the rest of the family arrived at the house, it was too late to run, he said. They huddled into the closet and waited out the storm. "I told everyone, 'We may not make it, but we can't leave now.'"

After the roar – a sound "like Niagara Falls from up close" – finally subsided, they went outside and surveyed their wrecked neighborhood. Homes were crushed for miles and debris was strewn about everywhere, he said. Throughout the night, neighbors wandered up and down the street, clutching photos of missing ones and asking for their whereabouts.

Posey said he's happy his family made it out alive but saddened by the thought of so much loss, especially the children in the school. The distinction of living through two massive tornadoes is one he'd rather do without, he said.

There are 28 emergency response teams in FEMA's national Urban Search & Response network, and any one of them can be dispatched to search collapsed buildings in large-scale disasters like the tornadoes in Oklahoma. Among the tools a team will utilize in the search for survivors: